Rachel Grimes
by INK-belle
Summary: This is Rachel Grimes story as she tries to find a safe place for her family in the Apocalypse. Fem-Rick. Starts in season 2. (CONTINUING)
1. TWD Chapter 1

**AN: I don't own anything from The Walking Dead. I'm just a fan of the drama and characters. I shouldn't have to tell you I was inspired by "Mother of the Apocalypse" by-AJealousSoulsLullaby, it starts off in season 1, I start off in season 2 (because I really don't think I can start from there and accidently do a complete rip off of their work.) Its cannon, for the most part, except for a few changes that will affect the story later on. Lori is Leon, Rick is Rachel, Daryl is Daryl (Drools). Right now I'm just putting up one chapter to see if I get any favourites/followers, and if you want I can continue writing it. Leave a review if you have any questions and I'll answer them as best I can, Flamers will be taken into consideration (If they make a valid point.) Thank you for reading!~ X)**

TWD Chapter 1

Rachel watched her husband with a slight smile, a memory resurfacing. It was a little hard to believe how much she loved him, even after all these years.

Still driving, he caught the look and smirked, "What?"

In the back Carol seen the exchange of looks between the loving couple and envied them, wishing her marriage had been more like theirs instead of the abusive fear filled memory she wished she could forget.

"I was just thinking about the time we tried to take Carl to the Grand Canon…" He involuntarily snorted, his wife sharing the laugh as well.

"We went to the Grand Canon? I don't remember that." Their son piped up.

"Yeah, you wouldn't… you were just a baby. Side's we never did get to see it." She drew her husband's unoccupied hand into hers, intertwining their fingers.

"Why not?"

"You got sick, your mother tried to kick my ass for not driving fast enough to the closest hospital." Leon grinned at her. "You drove slower than Miss Daisy." Rachel quipped right back, making Carol cover her mouth in a light giggle while the kids looked back and forth between them confused, _who's Miss Daisy?_

"I never knew a baby could throw up so much!" Carl's father continued,

"Doctor in Texas said you were alright, so we turned around and drove straight home." They finished with a light squeeze of their hands, the look they shared with each other was complete and pure love.

"Well that sucks." Carl frowned, making all of them laugh.

"No, my boy… it was a good trip."

"Can we go?" Sophia innocently asked, leaning comfortably into her mother's side.

"We'd never go without you and your momma, that's a promise."

* * *

Shane worked mechanically, his hands cleaning the guns and taking them apart with great expertise. Unaware of the look of complete awe he was getting from Andrea.

Every attempt at focusing on something else was always in vain though, his mind would always wander back to _her_, his partner, best friend, their fearless leader… the one that got away.

Rachel Grimes

It was your typical story, first childhood friends, best friends, high school sweethearts, than before you knew it-they weren't anything **but** best friends. And that was all because of super-nice-guy Leon, the nerd that no one paid attention to in high school, including the man's present wife. It was between the time they broke up, they always had an on-and-off relationship. Shane had unknowingly given the overweight nerd the opportunity to move in on his woman. At first he was okay with the relationship, shrugging it off as nothing more than the girl going for the rebound, than they graduated… and Leon was quick to propose to her, claiming her legally and making her completely out of his reach.

That's when he realized she was never coming back. The sneaky little bastard had wormed his way into their relationship taking what was his. Not long after that Carl was born, making Rachel even more unattainable. It was his life he was living, a family that should've been his.

Although…

Everything couldn't be completely Leon's fault, he might've also had a hand in her leaving. It was just for fun -at first- breaking up with Rachel, than messing around with the new girl that was on his hit'n'ditch list. Shane always silently promised himself that the current girl would be the last, that he would go back to Rachel and give up his lecherous ways, until a new set of brown eyes and wide hips would make themselves known. Even with everything he's put her through, she was always quick to forgive him, writing them off as "Shane's ways".

Even when they were partnered up at the station, she bore him no ill-will. In the end, Rachel chose to forgive him and keep their friendship instead of being petty and upset over a relationship they both knew should never have happened… or at least, **she** knew that should never have happened.

"Looks complicated." Andrea finally spoke, after a few minutes of silence.

He blinked, not realizing how deep in thought he was.

"Uh… yeah, at first it is… if you want I can clean yours."

She smiled, the first time since Amy had died. "Could you show me how to do that?"

"Sure."

While the two talked in the back both Glenn and Dale frowned in displeasure at the sight of the road, abandoned car's littered the interstate.

"Maybe we could head back and-"

"not enough gas." The old man said,

Daryl, their crossbow wielding, motorcycle riding, bad mouthed hunter rode up next to the RV signalling them to follow.

After carefully swerving around car after car, Dale and Glenn practically jumped in surprise at the spew of exhaust that shot out of the front. "Damn! I know this would happen." Dale groaned, pulled over, and proceeded to stride into the back of the mobile home to fetch his tools while everyone else gathered onto the cluttered highway.

Nobody noticed the slight tension that sparked once both Shane and Leon made eye contact… nobody except Daryl, who scoffed at their pathetic attempts to stare the other down. Fighting over women was dumb -he thought- learning from personal experience himself. Both parties always lost.

"What's wrong?" the much fought over Rachel Grimes casually strode over, rifle in hand, posture straight with analyzing blue eyes.

"Radiator hose gave out…" Glenn answered.

Maybe in the beginning, before he knew she was married, Daryl had considered the woman stunning. But that thought was quickly tossed when Leon had claimed her as his wife. Well… the word 'claimed' didn't really suit her, more like, **she** chose **him **and officially wrote herself off the menu-sort a speak-. The dazing Dixon shook his head, these people were really starting to affect him, none of these people mattered to him. He was just here because there was no other place for him since Merle disappeared. Getting caught up in the stupid squabbles wasn't any of his business.

So, with one last scornful glare at the ground he turned and began searching through the closest car, letting them know they could do more than stand around doing nothing. "We can scavenge from these cars!"

"Siphon more fuel, look for food." Why were they still standing around? He had already found a baggy of trail mix and half a bottle of water.

"This is a graveyard." Leon stated plainly, making every single one of them look down guilty at the ground.

He figured him for that type, the type that thinks too much on sentimentality. No one answered of course, probably too ashamed to admit the man was right.

"I don't know how to feel about this." He gazed at his wife, who looked back with sympathy; he always did wear his heart on his sleeve. It was one of the many reason's she loved him.

"I know baby…" she murmured into his shoulder,

Everyone knew their jobs and immediately set out to do it. Rachel was on watch on the ground with Dale watching from the roof of the RV who had Glenn learn about the interior of the RV's engine, Shane scavenged, Daryl and T-dog siphoned gas from the vehicles, Andrea was inside the mobile home doing-lord knows what, while Carol and Leon watched both the kids and searched the cars.

Ever since Leon's 'accident' he was never able to actually help physically. His missing leg limited his abilities of contributing properly with the group. Most of the time he was put on watch, helping Carol do laundry or cook, or even just teaching the kids things they'd learn in school-much to their dismay.

His wife had forbidden him from going out on runs, every attempt was thwarted with her giving him that 'look' he had come to fear/hate. It was obvious who wore the pants in the relationship. Before this he was able to support his family, money-wise. Keep them happy and healthy… and then the apocalypse began, rendering him completely useless especially after that walker had snuck up on him in the woods near Atlanta.

"Dad you need help?" Carl gazed up into his father's wide eyes, pride hurt by the innocent request, But Leon merely grinned, pushing the annoyance of being useless to the back of his mind and shook his head "I'm fine son. It's just this crutch is really digging into my side now." it wasn't a lie, it was uncovered and practically sticking painfully in his rib cage, but his boy didn't need to know the uncomfortable details.

When he tried to scurry off ahead Carl was stopped by his dad's hand on his shoulder. "Always within my sight."

"Sophia same goes for you." Carol added,

They both nodded.

The summer sun beat down hard onto the hard working group, Georgia's air hot and slightly burning to the skin.

Rachel's only form of shade was her deputy sheriff hat. It wasn't much, but it was something. She looked up at Dale who had risen his binoculars with a look of concentration. Immediately, she peered down the sights of her rifle watching for any movement, her breath caught in her throat at the patchy head of a walker as it shambled its way towards them. For a moment she contemplated on shooting it, when another head shuffled behind it, than another. Soon a swarm of heads were clumsily making their way on the road in their direction.

A herd.

Panicked filled her, as she took off running, warning the rest of the group in an urgent whisper. "Get under the cars! Walkers!"

All eyes were wide as they raced for hiding places, Shane quickly grabbing the petrified Glenn. Leon tried to calm a whimpering Carol as she realized her daughter was by herself, under a car, alone. Instinctively, Rachel had gotten a hold of her son and practically shoved him under the closest vehicle, throwing herself down and rolling in next to him.

At this point it was every man for himself.

T-dog crouched warily beside a car, searching for any hiding places. He leaned heavily unto a car door, it broke beneath his weight making him fall and his arm be caught on a sharp piece of metal. In surprise T-dog pulled his arm right to his chest, biting back a wail of agony as an excruciating amount of pain rippled across him.

Blood squirted from the large cut, his front shirt turned red within seconds. At seeing his own blood, he stumbled backwards, away from the oncoming horde. Fear filling him at the thought of their keen noses catching a whiff of him, catching him, than eating and ripping his innards out from his body.

Carol watched through blurred eyes. Her daughter's form under the large minivan was as rigid as a board, tears were streaking down her face, her lips silently mouthing the words "mom". She wanted nothing more than to rip herself from Leon's hold and race to her daughter's side, take her away to safety. But the ever commanding Grimes woman would send her a look.

They made eyes contact again, one pleading, the other hard with a glare demanding she stay in place. Rachel pressed her finger to her lips in a shushing signalling for Carol to remain quiet.

Time passed by excruciatingly slow, walkers shuffling feet and moans were the only things Rachel could hear. That, and her son's raggedly quiet breaths. Shifting ever so carefully, she turned to get a look to the other survivors. Both Shane and Glenn stared at her from under their vehicle, all the way on the edge of the highway.

Her partner was calm and collected while Glenn… not so much. Those wide terror stricken eyes were visible even at this distance. He looked like he wanted to run, body straight and prepared to run at a moments notice.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the sight of clumsy tattered shoes were no more.

Feeling a little relieved, and eager, Sophia quickly slide to the edge of her hiding spot, not paying attention to the last two straying walkers behind.

"Ahh!"

Rachel's head whipped in the direction of the soft scream. Her mind reeling at the sight of Sophia desperately trying to inch away from the reaching hands of a hungry monster. Telling Carl to go to his fathers side, she rolled out from under the car and took off after the girl as she raced into the woods, the two walkers dead on her heels.

* * *

"I left her right **here**. Told her if I didn't come back in time to go off into that direction-" she pointed to where she knew where the highway was. "and keep the sun on her left shoulder!"

The three men searched the area, hopefully the girl was hiding in a spot they overlooked, she wasn't.

"A girl being chased by walkers? Scared, tired, hungry, makes me wonder how much of what you said stuck." Shane contradicted,

"Naw, there's her tracks here. She did what you said and took off towards the highway." Daryl offered, throwing a glare towards her partner.

"She's probably scared and hid in a bush somewhere." Glenn added hopefully.

They followed the tiny tracks with renewed diligence.

"She stopped, and took off to the right." Their tracker spoke, pointing in the direction of where she ran.

"Pro'ly got spooked. Saw something an ran."

Sun was high above, Rachel had to guess that they were out there for a good hour or so, people would start to get anxious if they were all out there for too long. "Shane, take Glenn and head back to the interstate-"

"What?!" he shouted.

"We all can't be out here for too long, I'll take Daryl and keep searching. You and Glenn head back and make sure the group stays calm. Give em chore's, take their minds off it for a while. Just make sure their busy." He seemed like he wanted to protest when she gave him a hard stare. That same stare he helped her develop when they were kids, to show people she wasn't to be messed with, and to show her stubbornness.

"Alright…" he gave Daryl one look of warning -which the redneck scoffed at- and did as he was told.

"You know I'mma punch that boyfriend a'yours in the face if he keeps given me those looks." When he spoke, Rachel blinked a few times in surprise, she never expected him to willingly start a conversation. Than the realization of what he said struck her.

"I'm married, Daryl…"

"Don'stop him from acting like he owns you." Where was this conversation heading?

"He's just like that, been like that ever since we were young." She defended.

As observant as she was, Shane seemed to be the only one in her blind spot, Daryl noticed. It would be a troublesome trait for her further down the line. Not like he cared though…

* * *

"Shane! Shane!" at hearing his name called he looked up to find Carl, the brightest grin he's seen the boy wear in a while. "Look what I found!" he excitedly dropped the black leather wrap he carried, it clattered, like metal scraping against metal. "It's an arsenal!"

Machetes, hatchets, everything they would need for silent killing the walkers. But Shane just continued to bang around under the hood of the Hyundai he was working on, not sparing the boy a glance. "That's cool bud, now go give'em to Dale."

"Carl! Are you alright?" the boy's father lumbered towards them, his eyes widening at the weapon his son swung so casually around. "Hey! That isn't a toy, put it down!"

"Can I keep one?"

"Are you crazy?!" with a pout, Carl handed the hatchet to him. The boy let out an annoyed whine before turning to the other man. "Shane can you _please_ talk my dad into letting me keep one?" at this, he turned to give the boy an intimidating glare.

"What I say? Go take them all to Dale **now**!"

Leon handed the bag of weapons to Carl, a silent fury raging in his eyes directed at the other male. "You don't talk to _my_ boy that way." he hissed.

Not wanting to fight Shane continued to work on the car, ignoring the disabled man's viscous looks. If they got into with one another, no doubt the old cop would win.

* * *

Once they had came back, with no Sophia, Rachel knew she would immediately be the butt of the woman's anger. Especially with her being the one to leave her out there in the first place. The brunette tried reasoning with her, saying she had no other choice, but Carol would hear none of it and continued to bash her.

She could imagine her pain, the thought of losing Carl in the woods scared her. How could she deal with something that heart wrenchingly cruel? And her answer was... she couldn't, "We'll fine your daughter." Rachel Grimes had never felt so strongly in keeping a promise.

Night went by with little sleep, Carol cries kept everyone from sleeping. And when morning came around there was not a single tired face, looked like everyone was as determined to find Sophia as much as she was.

Plan was simple, Dale and T-dog would stay behind and keep an eye on things, Dale would have the RV up and running by the time they got back. Everyone else would be out, looking in the woods for Carol's daughter. At first Rachel was against having Carl tag along, saying he was too young, he might get hurt. But one persuasive talk from her husband and she allowed him, under certain conditions of course.

Unfortunately the first two locations were a bust. A tent in the middle of the woods with only a dead man inside it, half his head blown clean off, and no Sophia.

The next was a church in a clearing, bells ringing loudly from it. A number of walkers had occupied the inside, ardent god worshipers who died in their sits. There was still no Sophia.

After a while their searched left them famished, Rachel had thought it was best to split up while she and Shane hunted for food, the rest continuing on. There was a bit of complaining from her husband, how he wouldn't mind going instead of Shane, but that idea was quickly dashed with her one look. He just wasn't quite use to his missing leg yet, it would be a problem if they had to run from walkers. Than Carl volunteered, she was going to dash that idea as well if Leon hadn't said. "He'll never learn how to respect a weapon if you keep sheltering him." taking her by surprise. It was true, her over protective behavior had escalated after the visit to the CDC. Her son's life almost gone in the blink of an eye, the thought was scary even now. But, she realized, he would never be able to defend himself from walkers if she kept coddling him.

* * *

Their trek in the woods was cramped and slow, mostly due to Rachel's distracted mind of watching the woods and watching her son. And although she was aware of her surrounding's, she just couldn't stop her wary glances she'd throw to Carl every few seconds. Shane was about to say a word to the woman's overbearing behavior, ready to risk any animals in the vicinity, when a crack of a twig stalled their movements.

Rachel was up ahead, scouring the area for any walkers when her eyes landed on a brown preoccupied buck.

From the way it was casually eating they guessed it hadn't seen them yet. Shane eagerly rose the gun in his hands, ready to claim the prize as theirs when his partner placed a hand on his forearm stopping all movements. He looked up curiously at her when she pressed a finger to her lips and pointed to the awestruck Carl. The boy's eye were large with a look of wonder. He had never seen a deer that close up before.

A sense of pride washed over Rachel as she witnessed the spiritual moment, unknowingly squeezing Shane's forearm. It took all self-restraint for the distracted ex-cop not to reach out and kiss her.

But the moment was ruined when a thunderous clap broke out across the woods. His mother watched with horror as the deer went down, taking Carl along with it.

"**CARL!**"


	2. TWD Chapter 2

TWD Chapter 2

"How far is it?!** How far is it?!**" Rachel screamed at the stocky large man as he lumbered exhaustedly on fat legs.

"It's just over that hill! Ask for Hershel! He'll help your son!" he wheezed,

_Just over the hill!_

_Just over the hill!_

She had to keep her mind set on the stretch of land before her, or else she was forced to stare into the pale unconscious face, nestled close to her collarbone. She'd have to notice, the blood standing-out against the quickly draining color of his skin, or feel the warmth of his body seep between them. No, it was best to keep her mind on one task, and that was getting help.

In her hectic sprint, his weight was thrown in many different directions, almost throwing herself off balance-here and there. But she held steady and continued onwards, now wasn't the time to be clumsy, every second mattered. Nothing could stop her. So the burning in her lungs, or the tingling numbness in her leg muscles, were all pushed to the furthest corner of her mind. The blood that soaked the front of her uniform, though, was impossible to not notice. It's warm, wet feeling, made her sick to her stomach. Blood stuck both their shirts to their abdomens, there was just _so much_ of it. Knowing it **all** belonged to Carl, her baby boy, her _son!.._. Rachel could only wish the trek uphill was shorter, a hill that seemed to have an unending incline. And with every step she took, the distance seemed to expand more, making her push her legs to go faster, stretch farther, strain the muscles till they were on the verge of ripping.

Not far behind, Shane half-carried half-dragged the large man that caused the whole incident. This man was well-fed, dressed head to toe in cameo. He was a hunter, a good one at-that… but his aim was **too** good. His bullet hit the intended target. The buck falling sideways in a heap of dead meat, but it didn't stop at the deer, instead, ripped right through, and taking the unaware boy down with it.

Rachel blinked back tears, the large farm home now insight. "HERSHEL!"

People within the home went up in a frenzied panic. The image of the sheriff woman running towards their house, clutching a bundle of red flopping limbs, jolted them into action. His daughter went out to open the fence for her to enter, Hershel himself, running out to meet the unknown woman in red and asking the obvious question that was on all of their minds. "Was he bit?!"

"-Shot! By your man," his family all gasped in horror. "Otis?!" he yelled, not believing it. "-he said find Hershel, is that you?! Help, please! Help, my boy!" The grizzled old man gently took him from his hysterical mother's tired arms and darted back inside.

Rachel shadowed his every footstep, staring at nothing but Carl's ghostly white face the whole time. He placed her son on a queen-sized bed in one of their guest rooms. Their crisp white bed sheets were dyed a deep crimson in a matter of seconds, and all Rachel wanted to do was hold her baby boy's body close to her chest. Rock him back and forth, like when he was first born and had trouble sleeping, only his mother's soft hushes and slow caring movements comforting him.

"-Pillow case!" blinking, she stared confusedly at Hershel. "What?" Had he said something?

"Get the pillow case, fold it, make a pad, and apply pressure to the wound!" he repeated, prepping his equipment. Nothing mattered at the moment than her son's life, but here she was, reminiscing those late nights. Now wasn't the time to be distracted! She did as told and looked up at the concentrating face of the man. He pressed his stethoscopes diaphragm to her son's unmoving chest, eyebrows furrowing.

"Is he- is he alive?" she dreaded to hear the answer.

"I have a heartbeat, it's faint. What's your name?" She inhaled a breath of fresh air, just-now realizing how her chest was tightened painfully from lack of oxygen, and arms both falling limply at her-sides, they felt like noodles to her now. "I got it" a blond woman patted her shoulder, relieving her of her duty. It took some time for Rachel to regain the breath she needed, but answered Hershel's question quickly. "R-Rachel, Rachel Grimes." She choked back a soft sob. Rachel wanted to cry so bad, just fall to her knees and wail in sheer relief.

"Rachel, we're gonna do everything we can to help your son. But we need you to give us some space. Now." A bit reluctantly, she walked out the room, sending one last worried look at Carl's still-form.

A brunette female, much younger than the blond woman assisting Hershel, rushed passed her into the room. Carrying a liquid see-through bag attached to a tube and needle. The ex-cop had to turn her head from the sight, looking out the closest window to see Shane and 'Otis' stumbling towards the farm house.

Feet that felt like lead, carried her out onto the porch to meet the two. The man, Otis, was first to speak. "Is he alive? Is he still alive?" Her throat felt dry, her body drained of strength. Any rage she should've felt for the man was smothered by exhaustion. Rachel dragged her wrist across her forehead, trying to get rid of the sweat that trickled down face. Some of it even trailed into the side of her eyes, making seeing things difficult.

"…He's okay…"

Both men went completely silent as the stunned mother smeared a line of blood across her brow. Eyes wide, complexion pale and clammy, the woman looked about ready to throw up.

Shane dug into his bag, pulled out a rag, and gently took her face between his hands. His partner didn't protest, he bet she didn't even realize what he was doing till she looked down in shock at her hands. He wiped away all traces of red from her forehead and said in a soft calming tone. "Okay, it's okay… take me to him, let's go see Carl."

That wasn't an expression he'd ever wanted to see on her face. Sad, desperate, and confused, these were the emotions that were drawn out clearly on the female. Only a few times, he had ever seen his friend cry, most of them in anger or frustration, but never had he seen Rachel cry in sadness. Her expression was broken, frail, and exposed for all to see. Shane wanted to take that feeling from her, hug and comfort her. Allow her to pour all her sadness onto him, till there was no more.

Rachel dipped her head in a resolute nod and led him into the house. She banged into a few corners on the way in, but she was too numb to even feel pain at the moment.

The room was silent, nothing but the shuffling of fast feet coming in and out of the doorway. Hershel looked up and caught sight of Shane staring worriedly at Carl. "Are you his father?" Shane said a quick "no"

"His father's out in the woods still…"

"Well do either of you know his blood type?"

Rachel rose her hand. "A positive, same as mine."

"That's fortunate, don't wonder far I'm gonna need you. What happened?" all eyes fell on Otis, who opened and closed his mouth speechlessly. "I was, tracking a deer… the bullet went clean through it…. Clean through…" he murmured, he eyes never leaving the deathly boys pale face.

"Well, the deer certainly saved his life. It slowed the bullet down. But it did not go through clean. It broke off into pieces. If I could get the bullet fragments out-I'm counting six…" Hershel lifted the bloodied make-shift pad to check once again, pushing back down when the tiny indents in his skin started forming little puddles of blood.

"Carl's father… his daddy doesn't know…" the Grimes woman shook on her spot, eyes streaking raw unshed tears. Shane dropped his bag and pulled her into his chest, whispering tiny words of assurances. "Stop… it's okay… it's okay…"

* * *

Sometime had passed, and the two were moved out of the room. Hershel telling them 'he needed space for what comes next' he didn't want the boy's mother in the room for what he was about to do, if-possible.

Both man and woman seated themselves outside the room where they kept Carl, afternoon heat filtered in, none of the sun's rays touching either though.

"Why'd I let him come with us? I should've sent him with Leon…"

The entire time she'd been staring at nothing but her hands, any red tint was long gone after she cleaned herself in their bathroom. But Rachel could still see it-the staining against her skin. Shane sighed, knowing exactly what she was implying. "Now don't you start that! You need to get that monkey off your back." She ignored him and continued. "A little girl goes missing, you look for her! Plain and simple. I should've said 'Carl, head back'…. It should be me in there."

"That _was_ you in there. You've been there and pulled through, Carl's gonna do the same." How could he be so sure? She wondered. When he had seen how Carl was taken down along with the deer. Memories, of the bullet entering one side of the animal and exiting out the other, its force was enough to rocket her son backwards off his feet, simultaneously hitting the ground just as the deer had. She'd probably never be able to erase these horrifying images from her mind. Guilt she felt would most-likely make her relive these memories, over and over in her head. No parent should ever have to see their child die in front of their eyes.

"Is this why I woke up? To find my family and watch my baby-boy just-disappear! before my eyes? What kind of sick joke is that!" she whispered harshly Shane stayed silent as she finished, instinctively reaching over and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Anything further would just be taking advantage of the situation, he felt.

Suddenly, a loud shuttering cry shook the room. Rachel was standing once the blond woman busted through the door, eyes immediately falling on her. "We need you in here now!" both ex-cops rushed into the room.

They didn't expect to see Carl wide awake, fighting against the old man's hold on his upper body as he was digging out a bullet fragment. "He needs blood! Help me hold him down!" Shane was at his side in a moments notice, trying to be gentle as he applied pressure to Carl's shoulders. Dark eyes shot up and looked straight at his mother. He let out a wailing cry of pain.

The sight was mortifying, Hershel leaning over his small body, using that long silver object in his hand to dig further into the boys abdomen.

She tried to shake this image and quickly made her way over to the other side of the bed, where the blond woman was prepping a needle and pump. Another cry from her son jolted her out of her shock. "DO IT NOW!" Shane noticed her hesitation, using his intense gaze to keep her in place.

Rachel didn't feel the needle pierce her skin, she only watched helplessly as Carl struggled a while longer, than dropped back onto the bed, all his movement ceasing at once. Her unrestrained hand covered her mouth, trying to stop muffling cries she was unaware of-till now.

"What happened?" Shane panicked,

"He just passed out…" Hershel said calmly, dropping the tiny fragment into the bedside bowl. "That's one… five more to go."

Things finally settled down, and they were seated around the boy. Hershel began to put his supplies away. "His pressures stable."

"Leon needs to be here. I need to go find him, bring him back." The Grimes woman began, but the old man shook his head, he could already tell she was going to be a trouble. "You can't."

"He's his father!" she spat

"Your son might need more blood." He looked over at the bigger man, searching for some help from him. "She can't go more than fifty feet from this bed." He nodded, confirming to him that he'd help.

Rachel stood up from the chair on shaky legs, not having seen the exchange between the two. She donated a little more than she should've, she could feel it in her head. Her best friend was at her side in an instant, offering her an arm to lean against, but she refused with a soft smile. "It's okay. I got it…" She walked out the room unsteadily. Smelling and seeing blood soaked sheets was a little hard on her weakened stomach at the moment, so before she further ruined their room she had to find a bucket.

Shane closed the door behind them, leaving Hershel and the blond woman to watch over Carl. The brunette girl, Rachel recalled Hershel calling her 'Maggie', straightened up, sitting beside her Otis pulled his head from his hands. "He's stable for now." They visibly relaxed at that.

"Leon has to be here Shane, he has to know-"

"-Okay, I get that. I'm gonna handle it. But you gotta handle your end." Her tired eyes looked back at him "My end?"

"Your end is being here, for your son, even if he didn't need your blood to survive. There's no way I'd ever let you walk out that door… you know that right? Like if something was to happen to him while you weren't here. Like…. Like if he 'slipped away' while you were gone. You would never forgive yourself for it. And neither would Leon." the meaning of what he was saying was starting to sink in for the woman.

At first she was quiet, than she lifted her head, smiling a helpless smile. "Your right."

"When am I ever wrong?" he joked, making the smile reach her eyes.

"Don't push your luck tough guy…"

Heavy tension in the room lifted just a mite, both Maggie and Otis smiled at the two's banter. But the room relit with that same tension as soon as Hershel opened the door and looked at Rachel. A stone in her stomach threatened to drop if he had bad news. "He's outta danger for the moment, but I need to remove those remaining fragments."

"How? You saw how he was."

"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others." She nodded her head, knowing exactly what he was suggesting. "There's more." Maybe she was getting sick, she could feel anxiety crawling up her throat. "Tell me." she pushed it back down.

"He's bellies descended, his blood pressure's dropped, which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must've nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there, and I mean at all! If he reacts the same as before, I'll severe an artery and he'll be dead in minutes. To even try this I'll have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own… same bad results."

Rachel found the closest trash bin and emptied the contents of her stomach into it. She figured she would sooner or later, she just didn't expect for the man to be so graphic in his detailing. But that was the odd thing. For all she was, Rachel had never been easily grossed-out by blood or other things like that. She was a sheriff's deputy for crying out loud!

Maggie was behind her, patting her back comfortingly. She straightened up, wiped what little remained from her mouth and look the old man square in the eyes. They both knew what little time they had was more valuable than worrying about her health. "What would we need?"

"You need a respirator. Tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutra's-"

"If you got all that? You could save him?"

"I could _try_." He clarified

"Nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago… the high school! It was where everyone gathered." Otis stood between the two, willing to offer any helpful input he had. "The place was overrun last time I saw it, you couldn't get near it. Maybe it's better now?"

"Get me a map than." Shane spoke from the window, he stared intently at Rachel. The woman's eyes softened, she couldn't express her gratitude.

"You don't need one, I'll take you there. It ain't but five miles." Otis offered. Hershel assistant, the older blond woman protested. "Otis no!"

"Patricia, honey… I'm responsible, I ain't gonna sit here and watch this fella take this on alone." Her face looked unsure, he was quick to try and dispel it. "I'll be alright."

"I should thank you." Rachel rasped out.

He looked pained by her praise. "Wait till that boy of yours is up and running. Then we'll talk. I'll gather some things."

The farmer's daughter, Maggie, walked to stand in front of the older brunette. "You're husband… where is he?"

* * *

"How much farther?"

"Not much, maybe a hundred yards… as a crow flies." Daryl said gruffly, his eyes staring at nothing but what was in front of him. Andrea rolled her light blue eyes at his vague answer. "Well, we're not crows so…" he didn't say anything, just keep true on his self-set path. Why the Dixon-man was still with them was a mystery.

Their little search party was tired by the time the sun was just trying to set. Glen, Carol, Leon, Andrea, and their guide Daryl, were just on their way back to the highway, ready to call it in. the blond woman lagged behind the group, grumbling an incoherent ".. crow flies my ass.." Thankfully, Daryl hadn't heard her insult, he wasn't known in their group as the most even tempered. No, that position was already filled by Rachel.

Her mind had taken off into a assortment of different topics, mostly things that irritated her, that Andrea didn't hear-or see the hideously deformed walker lumbering up beside her.

"Ahhh!"

Leon's head snapped up at the sound. "Andrea?!" her screams tore through the woods, she wasn't that far behind, although she was still pretty far from the rest of them.

Daryl raced passed him, notching an arrow back on his crossbow. He was just about to shoot the walker down before it could sink it's teeth into the woman, but a speeding force had beat him to the punch.

A brunette cowgirl riding a large horse, carrying a bloodied bat stared down at Andrea, than turned to Daryl. "Leon?! Leon Grimes?!" said man limped up beside the stunned Dixon. "Yes?"

"Rachel sent me, there's been an accident! Carl's been shot! He's still alive, but Rachel needs you! Come on!" he didn't need anymore explanation than that. Throwing his bag on the ground, he used his only leg to push up and over to sit on the large beast. Leon looked at the rest of the group, finally noticing how Daryl was yelling. "Whoa! You can't go with her! We don't know her!" everything he said went on deaf ears. The girl on the horse turned to the none-shouting male. "Rachel said you had other on the highway?" Glenn nodded, his mind barely registering what was happening. "Backtrack to Fairabend Road, two miles down you'll see our road. Mailbox say's Greene!"

They stared off after the two as they rose off.

* * *

The Grimes woman rested her chin upon her curled fist, gazing out at the peaceful farmland with tired droopy eyes. Pink and orange began to coat the scenery in an ephemeral glow, drowning out the bright green of the trees. It was a beautiful place, so… innocent.

Hershel walked out onto the porch, taking himself a seat next to her. She offered a tired smile "Your farms beautiful."

"Been in my family for 160 years." He said,

"I was just thinking about how much it looks so… serene. Untouched."

"Well we didn't come out unscathed when this epidemic started. Farm hands, friends… my wife and son were taken as well." She looked apologetically at him. "I'm sorry…"

Awkward silence filled the air, both just looking out at the stretch of land before them. Rachel shot up onto her feet when Maggie rode into sight, behind her a very distraught looking Leon rode on the horse as well. His face was twisted in pure agony, it was probably his leg bothering him with the ride, but he pushed away the pain and concentrated on the house.

Rachel had run out to meet them halfway, her dainty hands coming up to cover her mouth to stifled sobs. All the pain she was feeling rushed back into her at the sight of Leon's face. The man jumped from the horse, carelessly tossing his crutch to the side and pulling his crying wife into his arms. They hugged for a while, swaying on the spot from side to side, which wasn't that hard for the one-legged man. And both just relished in the others comforting warmth.

Rachel finally started to calm and helped her husband limp to the porch stairs. He wanted to see his son.

Leon's first reaction when he seen his boy, pale and unconscious on that large bed, was to ask for the bastard who had shot him. Hopefully he was still around, he was going to get a beat down from a very angry father. Hershel was quick to try and quell his anger, saying that Otis had made a mistake and was trying to help by going with Shane to get the supplies they needed. Leon was too mad to hear any of it but stopped his rampaging when his wife intervened. Giving him the most pleading look he'd ever gotten from her.

"Please hun, let's just calm down. Out boy needs us right now." and just like that, he was quiet. But the promise of a fight still burned in his eyes. This 'Otis' had better watch himself. Unlike his forgiving wife, he was not one to let things slid so easily.

Rachel swayed on her feet, rejecting her husbands offer to lean against him and instead gulped down the tall glass of orange juice Hershel had given her. It was gone in less than a second. She never noticed how dehydrated she was until now. "You okay Rachel?" Leon asked. She nodded.

They stood around Hershel's large dining table, it had a polished clean surface, so much that they could see their reflections- but that didn't matter. She was just looking for things to distract her mind. Right now, she couldn't think like that.

Her right arm felt swollen and sore. After all the blood transfusions they had to do she was still surprised she was still able to move about. But when she passed by a hallway mirror she'd seen how pale and frail she looked. It was a totally different person that stared at her. Eye's sunken in, her face appearing long and gaunt. She wanted to hide her face from everyone. It just didn't feel right to her at how fragile and weak she looked.

Her and her husband walked back into the room with Carl, there they waited... and waited... and waited.

Hours ticked away, sunset had long since passed and Rachel couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong with Shane Otis. She wanted to pace, to relief a bit of the jittery panick that coursed through her at the moment. But she didn't have the strength, her blood loss had taken it's toll and now she could feel her mind feeling light and dizzy. "…Their not back yet…" Her husband grunted softly while holding both her hands in his. she was cold, he noted "They will be back."

She shook her head. "They **should've** been back hours ago."

Hershel cut it. "His pressure's dropping again, we're gonna need more blood." Rachel was at his side in an instant, rolling up her uniform sleeve. "Take what you need, than I'm going out to get them." Leon shot up "Are you crazy? You can barely stand on your own!" he fumbled with his crutch under his arm, than strode to where they were.

"Listen to your husband." Hershel said "You're in no condition to be going anywhere. You've given too much blood, you won't even make it across the yard."

She continued, ignoring the man with medical experience. "If something happened. I-I have to go-"

"No! Your place is here! If Shane said he'd be back, he'll be back. In Atlanta I never asked him to save me and Carl. But he did. Because he said he had an obligation to you."

"I can't just sit here and-"

"That exactly what you do!" he exploded. "If you gotta pray, or cry, or tell god he's cruel you go right ahead! but you're not leaving, Rachel…. Carl needs you, here. And I can't handle all this on my own… not again." She fell back into her chair, her hands cradling her face. Rachel hated this feeling, but it seemed to be the only thing she could do all day.

Feel hopeless.


	3. TWD Chapter 3

TWD Chapter 3

It was just her and her father in a tiny trailer park on the outskirts of a small town. While he was out, working and attending empty bars stools- as he was always known to do. She was left to the house. Being the angry lonely girl she was, Rachel would never stay too long in the tiny living space. Instead, the raging brunette would get into scraps with the local trailer park kids out of boredom; either instigating them herself or not. Most of the parents knew that going to the girl's dad was just a waste of time, some took it upon themselves to give her the punishment her father was-too drunk to deliver, this never really did anything but add to her mounting anger. Then she met Shane in one of the hardest fights she ever fought. That also might've been the only time her dad had ever noticed her black eyes and split lips. At that time when he had finally talked to her sober, Rachel had realized how exhausted and weak he had become.

Was this how her father felt?

It was a cruel sight, Rachels sad haunted expression never breaking contact of Carls face. Even as Leon tried to coax her into eating the food left by Hershel, she didn't budge. He was at his wits end when he sighed. "Please… Rach… you have to keep your strength up for Carl's sake." This seemed to make her think. Slowly, she plucked the sandwich from the bedside drawer and forced herself to take small careful bites. A few times she'd look about ready to toss it into the trash, but instead she finished the entire thing without uttering a single word. "Thank you." Leon said with a grateful smile.

She was reluctant of releasing Carl's hand, fearing that if she did he'd slip away. Rachel noticed her finger tips were starting to become cold in his hold and stood up to search for a blanket. "What are you doing?" Hershel walked in.

"He's cold, I'm going to look for a blanket." The old man shook his head with a slight smile on his face. This Rachel-woman must've always been the type to keep herself occupied, which make's-sense because she's a cop. "I'll get him one, here." He gave Leon a tall glass of orange juice and another sandwich. The absence of the previous one didn't go unnoticed to him. "See that she eats all of it." Leon nodded, while Rachel glared.

XxXxXxX

Twisted decayed hands scratched at the sides of Shane and Otis's boots. The bleacher stands they took refuge on-was too high for the dead to reach, only their fingers tips able to touch their boots.

Panting hard Shane looked over at Otis, a panicky look in his eye. "Well, what are we gonna do now?" he called over the growls of the loud walkers below. It was sickening. All of them in a group, moaning and groaning all in unison. The stench of the hoard was so over-powering, Shane had to angle his head upwards to avoid being suffocated by it. Rotten human flesh smell mingling with Georgia's muggy nighttime air brought a taste that settled in the back of his mouth.

Ignoring it, he turned to his companion who scanned the dimly lit gym with wide fearful eyes. He would stare up at a row of windows atop a flight of stairs than to the opposite side of the gym and land on a doorway leading out to a dark unknown corridor. Otis inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to form the plan in his head carefully. Fortunately he knew this schools layout better than Shane. He was slow, but he was fast if he compared himself to the stumbling dead below. "Okay, I'll jump down, lead them off to the lower floors. That'll give you a distraction to jump out those windows. There's about a 20 foot drop on the other side. Round the right corner and we'll rendezvous at the football field."

As he said this he was unshouldering his duffle bag of medical supplies and handing it over to Shane-who absent mindedly took it. "Hell of a way to get yourself trapped ain't it?"

"There are windows in the changing rooms below-ones more my size too."

"Your one crazy bastard, you know that right?"

"I'm just trying to do right by that boy and his mother…" Otis took one last shuddering breathe of reprieve. No turning back now.

He jumped into the swarm.

XxXxXxX

"Do you really think we're gonna find Sophia?"

Daryl spotted his flashlight on Andrea's face. He wanted to ignore her dumb question, tell her that she's an idiot for even thinking of something like that. "You got that same look on you're face like everybody else. The hell's wrong with you people, we just started looking." Her lips pursed in indignation, "Well, do you?"

He was never around many people as he grew up, just him, Merle, and their dad. Daryl was use to people knowing what he was thinking without him having to explain himself. So with Andrea here, asking her stupid questions, it was hard not to keep the edge out of his voice as he answered. "It ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. She'd be hold off in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost, they survive, it happens all the time."

"She's only twelve." she stated plainly.

"Hell, I was a lot younger than her and I got lost. Nine day's eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak." Andrea knew he wasn't opening up to her, sharing a heart wrenching tale from his childhood, he was trying to prove a point.

"They find you?"

"Old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in Juvie, didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though, made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear, 'cept my ass itched something awful." Andrea snorted, trying her best to hold back a laugh at his story.

Daryl cracked a smile at his own story, it wasn't intended to be funny but at least she didn't have that dumb look on her face anymore. Everyone had it and it was starting to piss him off. "Only difference is Sophia's got people looking for her. I'd call that an advantage."

"Yep… the sheriff and her merry band of do-gooders… we really wouldn't have lost her if our leader didn't drag her feet."

Annoyance prickled beneath his skin at that. "At least she did something at the time, I never seen anybody else throwing themselves into the ditch and race for her. too busy trying to be shocked…" silence followed after that. Andrea knew that was a terrible thing to say about the Grime's woman, but she was angry, angry at being denied her one chance of a painless end by Dale, and angry that she wasn't as strong-willed or as lucky as Rachel.

"Sorry… She's actually a good leader, I'm just a little jealous of her that's all." He grunted. Not fully understanding but not wanting to get too much into it so he kept walking.

"Well, you seemed to take a real shine to her." she teased,

He wasn't even going to dignify that with a response.

XxXxXxX

How many times has she wiped her face? Or rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand? The skin was starting to feel slightly raw, her eyes were swelling. Not much had changed for the last couple of hours.

Rachel would only worry when Carl's face would scrunch up in pain, or he'd let out a random groan of discomfort. Nothing changed…

Of course T-dog and Glenn arrived an hour and a half ago, but Rachel barely stirred from her spot. Only offering the two a small forced smile and resumed her watch.

Leon was in the same state, looking outside the window. His eyebrows were drawn together in a frown, he must've been thinking of that hunter, Otis, and how he was going to beat the man to a pulp. She felt no ill-will towards Otis, besides, it was all a freak accident and she didn't want her husband to hold any grudge towards him either. "It was just an accident Leon..."

He's eyes turned to her, softening at the pitiful sight of his wife. "I know…. I'm just… I don't know."

She was about ready to say more when Hershel shuffled in, checking Carl again for the hundredth time that night. Rachel didn't realize she was at the edge of her seat watching the man do his examination so intently until Leon had placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

He looked up with a hard expression on his face. Hershel appeared to carry the entire world on his shoulders. "He's losing blood faster than I can replace it, if we don't do the operation now he'll just slip away. We can't wait any longer, and you-" he pointed to Rachel. "-can't give any more blood. I need to know if you two want to do the surgery now, without all the supplies. You have to make a choice."

There was slight hesitation in her when Leon turned to her with the most heart wrenching look. He wasn't prepared to make this decision solely based on their faith in Shane. Maybe it was about time to place some of that faith into the doctor. She nodded, "Alright Hershel…" hopefully, there wouldn't be any _Same bad results_…

Like they had predicted what their answer would be, Patricia had wheeled in a gurney. The room was up in a flurry of movements, Hershel and Patricia buzzing about gathering and prepping the area for the operation. The two parents had helped carry their son onto the metal operating table but after that Hershel stared at them. Maybe he noticed her shaking or the sickened look in her eyes as he slipped on both gloves and held his scalpel over Carl's abdomen. But with a soft strong voice he told them to leave.

She was about ready to start an argument when Leon shouted. "Their back!" pointing out the window.

Hershel, Rachel and Leon were the first to meet Shane out on the front yard. "Carl?" he wheezed with a limp. "There's still a chance." Leon answered gratefully. Shane handed the duffle bag of supplies over to the doctor when Hershel noticed something amiss. "Otis?"

His eyes didn't meet his, and that was all the conformation he needed. The old man looked like he was punched in the gut. "We say nothing to Patricia, not till after, I need her!" he stormed back inside.

Not a moment later, Rachel was hugging Shane, he hugged back. Trying to hide his face in her hair, but she pulled away. Tears of happiness leaked from her eyes. "Thank you Shane."

His eyes were shifty, like he was searching for an answer, uncertain of something. He wanted to hide from her gratitude. "T-they kept blocking us at every turn. Ten rounds between the both of us, he said 'I'll lay down some cover fire and you run'… and that's what I did…" His face was becoming red the more he went on, like he was about to burst into tears right then and there. Rachel looked back at Maggie, she was crying as well. Her eyes were closed, trying to put up a tough face infront of them. But Leon patted her shoulder and she threw herself into his chest. Her frame wracking with sobs.

"I tried…" he finished,

Without another word, she took him into her arms again, hushing him in a soft voice. "It's okay… It's okay…"

_**Hours later**_, Hershel emerged from the house, wiping his hands with a white rag. "He's stabilized." A round of withheld breathes were heard as everyone exhaled in relief.

"There's no words." Rachel said,

"It was a miracle." He offered, but his smile turned sad. "But how do I tell patricia about Otis?" Shane cringed from his sitting spot on the bumper of the truck.

"I'll go with Hershel, you go with Carl." Rachel straightened her posture and looked directly at Leon. He didn't protest to this, she was more of a people person than he was anyway.

As much as Shane wanted to stay around Rachel, he couldn't stand to hear the wailing sobs of Otis's wife. So instead, he went to quickly go see Carl. His father was at his bedside already though, crutch on his lap as he stared at his son's slumbering face. Again, he was going to turn around and head out the door when Leon's voice broke the silence. "You can stay…"

It was his permission, his apology for being a douche to him for the passed couple of days. Almost robotically, he sat down from across the bed, looking at Carl with a haunted expression. "He looks like his momma." He mumbled, but Leon heard it and smiled. "That he does." Another lap of silence.

"Thank you Shane… I know I was being a dick to you for the passed couple weeks but I'm eternally grateful to you for what you've done for me and my family." Nothing in the world could compare to the sincerity in Leon's eyes as he said this. Shane nodded, he really didn't want to hear any of this, he just wanted this day to finally be over. He didn't notice how hard he was gripping his pant legs until he looked down. Knuckles were almost a pure white, his slightly ripped slacks crinkled to an unsalvageable point. He needed a shower to wipe off all the sweat and dirt caked onto his skin. Even that horrible rotten stench still stuck to him.

"Don't worry about it." With that said, he left.

XxXxXxX

The next day the rest of their group had arrived at the farm. At first glance at his pale mother everyone feared the worst for little Carl, but were relieved to hear he had thankfully pulled through.

A funeral service was held for Otis, but without a body to bury they instead gathered rocks and had piled them next to a giant willow tree. Hershel spoke from the bible and Shane was the one to speak on behalf of Otis, to tell of his last moments. A little distractedly, he told Patricia how her husband had died a hero trying to save Carl. It was a short service, but Otis's family and friends were more at ease now.

For all of them it was back to business of searching for Sophia. Rachel was happy to learn that Carl would be getting better and took this tiny chance to plan the next search party for Sophia. They were more organized with the help of the Greenes and their map land layout. They also knew the local drug stores encase anything happened.

Unfortunately, because of her lack of blood loss Rachel wasn't fit to join the search party. Neither was Shane and his ankle, which left the long trek for Daryl, who took the duty without complaint. He seemed more determined to find Sophia more than anybody in the group.

And there was also the matter with the guns. Shane and some others in the group felt more safe with their guns on hand, closest so they could reach. Hershel immediately tossed the idea of them baring arms on his property out the window. He wasn't so comfortable like everyone else. This little dispute was settled with Rachel respecting the man's wishes. Even though he made it abundantly clear to her that they were to leave after they were all feeling better.

Now there was one more problem to deal with…

She caught Glenn just as he was about to saddle up and go on a run for more supplies with Maggie. Of course Leon had given them their original list, but she had one of her own. And she felt all the more comfortable not telling him directly what it actually was.

"Where can I find it though?" he asked, looking at her puzzled.

She swallowed a lump of embarrassment, "Try the… feminine hygiene section." His eyes widened so big she would've laughed if not for the favour she was asking him. "Oh! Don't worry enough said!" and he left. Looking more red than before.

Rachel was just on her way to check up on Carl when Daryl stomped passed her. almost bumping into her but swerving the last minute and stepping around. He was so serious, so skilled, and before she could stop herself she called out to him. "Daryl!" He stopped but didn't fully face her, waiting for her to continue. "you gonna be okay on your own?"

"I'm better on my own. Don't worry I'll be back before dark." His body tensed to stride faster. For some reason he was trying to put distance between them.

"You didn't owe us anything Daryl,… and still you stuck around and helped us."

"You got a point or you just chatting?" he bit out, trying to sound intimidating. She smiled, knowing a tough guy act when she saw one. "My _point_, Daryl Dixon… is thank you. And be careful out there." With her piece said, she left.

Daryl stood there, staring over his shoulder at the spot she use to be and shook his head. Stopping him just to say 'thank you', he'd never met a weirder person.

XxXxXxX

The sun was draining from the orange and pink sky when Glenn and Maggie got back. He was in shock, she couldn't tell if it was from her special request or something else. But thankfully, he didn't ask her any questions.

Rachel and Leon had to sleep outside in one of the other tents that crowded the lawn. Since Leon looked to peaceful sleeping on the bed with Carl, Rachel decided to let the two rest. She strode passed the tents, avoid trying to be seen by everyone and was far enough away to a secluded area. The tiny box, she took with her was clenched tightly in her fist. Was she just being paranoid?

No, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Minutes ticked as she waited for the result. The only lighting was the dim moonlight, but there it was… clear as bright as day.

One giant pink positive sign...


	4. Episode 1

"Do you know the difference between men and women?"

Shane threw his head to the side, cocky smile in place. "Don't tell me you've finally fallen for that feminist crap?" Rachel cocked an eyebrow at her partner and playfully tossed a fry in his face.

"I'm serious Shane! Do you know the difference between men and women?"

This had to be about the husband, so Shane humoured her and thought up one of his adventurous stories, hopefully she wouldn't hit him. "Okay than… women, and I do mean all of you-" That earned him a half-hearted glare. "-do not know how to turn a god damn light switch off!" "Oh really?" she mocked, "Like this last girl I had, you know all shacked up and everything. And she makes it **my **job to turn off all the lights once I get back home. I mean it! I'd come back, and I'd have to walk around the whole damn house turning off every single light this dumb bitch leaves on. So I confront her…"

Rachel tried not to crack any kind of smile but from the smirk on his face it wasn't working. "I'm sure that went well."

"So I say to her, When did it become my job to come back home and turn off all these damn lights, bitch you're running up my electric bill! And that's when the exorcist voice comes out- '**You sound just like my damn father!** Always getting mad at me for the damn electric bill!" Rachel choked on a gulp of pop in laughter. She coughed a few times before giving him an incredulous look. "Uh**Cough!** huh I'm sure **Cough**!"

"I go with the polite version of course when I tell her all that." He tried to look all suave.

"That would be best."

"And than I tell her, Girl, you've been hearing this your whole life and you're still too damn stupid to turn off a damn switch." Rachel couldn't contain her laughter at his bullshit of a story. "Of course again I use the polite version."

Their fit of laughter finally died down leaving only silence, but Shane had to ask. "How is Leon, haven't seen that slimy bastard since my last visit." He tried keeping the venom out of his voice as he said this but from her expression she didn't notice his distaste for him. Rachel's entire demeanor changed in a second, although she tried keeping the happy atmosphere.

"You know… I forget to turn off the lights from time to time. He always has to turn them off for me…" The look on her face told him everything, things weren't looking so good with their marriage.

"Ain't what I meant Rach, you know that…. Listen, I may have failed to amuse with my sermon but the least you can do is… speak." Rachel's mouth twitched upwards in a sad smile. "…That's exactly what he says… speak, you'd think I was the most closed mouthed person in the world." Now Shane felt like shit.

"Well… don't you tell him your feelings and stuff? You know like what you do here? I mean when we use to date we were always talking." A pained look crossed her face, maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring up their past relationship. "That was different… we were 17, only kids… and even when I do tell him how I feel, he gets mad like he didn't want to know in the first place. His jealousy is really getting the best of him." She tactically avoided **that** conversation. "You know what he told me this morning?" Shane listened intently to her, hoping to comfort her anyway possible. "You go ahead and leave us for **him**… and the worst part was… Carl was in the room when he said it. Picture him going to school with that in his head!" Her partner's eyes widen slightly. "He thinks we're…?" Shane wouldn't verbally admit it, but it was a long time coming.

Rachel and Leon finally breaking up, than there he would be to pick up the pieces, at least that's what he was hoping for in the beginning but their relationship lasted a lot longer than he expected. After a while he followed her out of school, getting this policing job, becoming partner to the sheriffs deputy, and still being her long-time friend without losing his mind. Rachel seemed pretty content on being friends even after everything they went through together their whole lives… But Shane didn't quite feel that settled.

"I don't know the difference between men and women… but I know the difference between Leon and me. And I would **never** say something like that in front of our son." Her mouth tightened into a thin line of frustration. She never showed too much emotion, but from years of spending so much time with her Shane could tell she was bothered by what he said.

"Do you still love him?" The question caught both off guard. Her partner didn't expect the words to fall from his mouth either, she suspected, especially from the look of shock on his face.

Before she could give any indication to an answer the radio's static warnings blared to life. –_All Available units-_

Suddenly they were off, leaving their unfinished meal at the bottom of a trashcan, nothing came before the job… not even love.

"Been chase'n these bastards through every back roads."

"Maybe we'll get on one of those TV shows like worlds craziest police chases!" She looked at him from her crouching position behind their wall of police cars. The kid was new and a little on the dim-side, not a good combination.

He looked over in her direction with a nervous smile. "What'd ya think Ma'am?"

Rachel glared at him from the corner of her eye, she had no tolerance for young idiots in these situations. "What I think Neil is that you need to stay focused, make sure you have a round in the chamber and your safety is off…" His smile faltered and now he was looking scared all over again. Neil fumbled to check the chamber and quickly ran his thumb over the safety switch.

"…It would be kinda cool to be on one of 'em shows." Shane gave his half-focused input, making Rachel shake her head.

The banter died down and now a whirring of sirens was heard on the horizon. Shane shifted from foot to foot, trying to find the perfect position to stand with the armed shot gun in his hands. Rachel narrowed her eyes, preparing herself for any surprises.

A car hopped over the hill, torrent of police vehicles following closely behind. Its speed accelerated, practically flying over the road spikes and flying into the air with a couple of flips. It's hard shattering decent to the ground had Shane's eyes widen in shock "Holy shit…" They waited a few moments before advancing towards the now totalled wreckage, Sheriff's deputy in front.

Coming within 40 feet on the upside down vehicle, the door creaked open and a bloodied frazzled man crawled from out the car.

"Gun! Gun! Gun!"

"Put it down!" Rachel bent her knees a little in instinct in case she had to run. The man looked around a little disorientated before shooting off rounds in every direction. A stray bullet got her in the right side of her chest making her tumble backwards to the ground at the impact.

"Rachel!" Shane screamed from his spot, and fired a couple rounds into the mans chest. He registered a second man coming from the other side of the vehicle but his attention was on the squirming pile in the tall grass. He hid behind his vehicle and reloaded, hoping it wasn't too late to save her. The second man's head rocked backwards from a bullet the chaser cops had shot off. Without waiting for more men to appear Shane jumped over the car's hood, face pale with worry.

"Rachel!"

"I'm alright!" She checked the rounds in her six-shooter and slowly climbed to her feet. Her partner exhaled heavily. "Jesus! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Her breathing was laboured and her eyes were wide with panic. "He shot me! did you see that?!" Shane turned her around on her feet and pried open her uniform, relief washed over him at the sight of the bullet proof vest. "Thank god…" He was holding her, making Rachel feel very uncomfortable.

She stepped back from his hold a couple feet and shook her head. "Shane you do not tell Leon that happened, ever!" His head dipped in a nod, Feeling foolish for grabbing her like he did. Rachel wasn't convinced he understood and pointed at him to get his attention. "I mean it! Don't say any-**Ahh**!"

Her body was tossed forward into his chest, blood splattering across his face. Shane immediately killed the third unseen guy with a single shot and gently laid her down on the grass. Applying pressure to her wound between her shoulder blade and arm, the bullet passed clean through her chest. Rachel's blue eyes widened in shocked and then pain, the whites slowly becoming bloodshot.

"Rachel! No-no-no come on baby stay with me! Officer down!"

Shane's bloodied comforting face shushed her as she opened her mouth in pain to speak, tears built at the corners of her eyes at the intense pain that shot through her.

"Shh-shh you stay with me…. no, you can't do this… love you... don't…" Her eyes looked to the sky and the whole world was flashed in white.

White tiled ceiling was all she could see and Shane's blurry face, her body unresponsive, only her mind and peripherals taking in the tiny hospital room. "…Hey Rach… We're still here, we're still hanging in there…" The bouquet of flowers he held nestled comfortably on his knee when he bent to peck her forehead. "I'm still waiting for you…" He looked to be on the verge of tears.

A chuckle escaped his lips once he pulled away. She couldn't move her eyes to follow his movement out of exhaustion, something was holding her back, as if she were a prisoner inside her own body. "I'm sorry, I say the same crap every time I come in here…" He hoisted the flowers into her line of sight. "Everyone pitched in on these… Told me to bring'em down and they send their love. They hope you come back real soon…. Linda and Dianne from Dispatch picked out these' said that they matched you… although, I think you're much prettier than a bunch a flowers." He was looking a little awkward now. "I'm gonna just set these on your side table…"

Something released her, and Rachel cracked a smile. "That vase…. That's something special, did you steal that from you're grandma Jean's house?…" Her body shook with weak laugh. "…I hope you left her that spoon collection." She coughed and looked around the room feeling as if she had awoken from a long dream, that's when she noticed there was no one around. "…Shane?" An empty room answered her back with more silence.

"Shane! You in the Jon?" Her voice was raspy and weak.

Rachel turned her head to look at the wilted brown flowers at the side of her bed, and reached out to touch them. They crackled away at her sensitive touch, her hair hung in long ringlets around her head. She was here for a while. Feeling confused and disorientated, Rachel climbed out of bed, the muscles in her legs giving out from the weight. She tried to call out for help, but no one came. It was sometime before she got full control of her body.

She swung the door open to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. The person in the mirror looked back in shock with round dark circles under her eyes and concaved cheeks. Hair clung to her sweaty pale forehead and stuck up everywhere in random places. One glance at the tap and she threw herself under it, greedily gulping down water in content.

After sometime of finding something to tie her hair back in a frazzled bun Rachel walked out of her hospital room and into a dim cluttered hallway. Paper's thrown on the ground and wheelchairs tipped over in some kind of rush.

She moved a heavy girder out of the entryway to the room and proceeded down the hallway, occasionally crumpling papers underfoot to get to the receptionist desk. Disappointingly, No one was there either.

Leaning heavily on the desk Rachel picked up the phone and panicked when there was no noise. Telephone line was plugged into the wall, than a pole must've been down somewhere. She blindly searched the desk to find any kind of light source and came up with a book of matches. Lighting one, she searched for anything else. In a fit of frustration, she tossed the burning stick and walked more down the hallway to hopefully the exit.

The left side of her sight caught flickering lights and immediately headed in that direction, hoping to find people. Buzzing of the lights irritated her already throbbing head as she looked through the window. Body flew back in fear at the dead woman who lay in the middle of the hallway.

Skin and organs missing, the red skeleton laid in a puddle of dried blood. Her bones shined with green and brown, rotting most likely, her meat had been picked clean off her corpse. Quickening her pace down the hall, she slipped in a red substance. Her stomach convulsed at the smell of blood and rotting bodies. A loud bang made her turn her head to her right and stare wide eyed at the heavily barracked door. Black painted lettering on it reading '**DONT OPEN** **DEAD INSIDE'**

Chain's wrapped securely around the handles, nothing was getting out of there. Long grey fingers slowly scratched at the sides of the door. Becoming more frightened, Rachel hurried her search to find an exit and came across an elevator. She gave up on it after a fearful second of waiting and shuffled over to the staircase that was beside it.

Rachel coughed at the smell of rotting meat and continued her descend down the dark stairs, using her toes to search the ground where ever she stepped. The burning match in-between her fingered got hotter the more she took her time. A few staircases and numerous matches later, Rachel finally found the exit doors to the outside. It was only a moment of blinding light but she quickly adjusted and shuffled her way past rows of white sheet covered bodies. Holes where their heads shoulda been. It was a sad and disgusting sight to see.

Walking a block away from the hospital, clutching her old wound the whole way, Rachel finally found a bike. She tipped the bike upwards and rose her leg to climb up when a growling hissing noise caught her attention. The bike fell from her grasp at the sight of a half body of a rotting person reaching out in her direction. It's gums and teeth chopping robotically at the sight of her.

Suddenly she was on the bike, peddling faster than humanly possible. Going in the direction all her fear was most concentrated on.

Rachel sat on her front yard, tears streaking down her face as she rocked herself back and forth, arms wrapped securely around her legs. _"This can't be happening! This can't be happening! Carl… Leon…"_ more tears blurred her vision.

Something out the corner of her eye had her wiping her nose and raising her hand to shield her eyes. The person in black changed their course and advanced in her direction. She didn't hear the silent footsteps come up behind her, only the hard mind jumbling Thawck! of the shovel when it connected with the back of her head. Her sight was blurry, but her mouth pulled up in a straining smile at the figure. "Carl… My baby boy…." He was yelling, but she couldn't hear anything from the sound of ringing in her own ears. But he was yelling for someone, as far as she could tell. Looking to the other man on the street, Rachel almost didn't make out a second man coming up behind the other and placing an object in the side of his head. BANG! The first man fell sideways to the ground.

"She said something, I thought I heard her say something!"

"She called me Carl!"

The days stressful events finally caught up with her and exhaustion hit her hard. Eyes rolling in the back of the head Rachel let the peaceful feeling of weightlessness take her.

Eyes snapped open in fear, breathing coming out in pants, She pulled on the restraints on her wrists. "Woah! Woah! Stop!" A voice whispered harshly beside her, their hand placed firmly on her abdomen to keep her from struggling. She looked up at the person and breathed harder at the giant male. "Why I am tied up? Whats going on here?" Her mind was playing out dozens of scenarios that this man could have done to her… or was going to do to her, this made her struggle harder.

Suddenly a gun was placed between her eyes, making all the blood from her face drain at the sight of it. "You keep making noise and I'll have to kill you…" all her strength was sapped from her muscles at that statement.

"All I did was change you're bandages… nothing else." He was dead serious from the look in his eyes. Rachel didn't notice him before but a boy was sitting in the doorway, threateningly holding a bat in his hands.

"What was the wound?" the dark man asked, getting up and washing his hands in a basin of water on the side of her bed. This caught her off guard but she answered anyway. "…Gunshot…"

"Anything else?" Her attitude seemed to kick in at his question. "Gunshot ain't enough?" they could hear the venom in her voice. But the man didn't seem to be in the mood for any evasive answers.

"Look, I ask and you answer. Its common curtsy right?" he glared down at her. This time he got closer to the bed, towering over her with a no-nonsense look. "Did. You. Get. Bit!" he demanded.

"Bit?."

"Chewed, scratched, anything like that?" His questions were beginning to grate on her nerves. "No, I was shot. Just, shot."

She flinched away from his hand when he tried to reach for her head. "Hey, just let me." She allowed him to but turned her head away, refusing to look at them. "Feels cool enough… fever woulda killed you by now."

"I don't think I have one."

"It'd be hard to miss."

He reached to his back pocket and flicked a knife open and reached over to the restraints on the bed polls. "I ain't gonna do anything to ya. But if you try anything to hurt me and my son… this knife will be the last thing you see, got it?" her head dipped in a nod, not fully trusting this man but complied anyway.

They were out of the doorway but he turned around and looked her right in the eyes. "Get yourself cleaned up and come out when you're ready… we got food." Rachel absentmindedly rubbed her wrists and ignored the growl in her stomach.

"This is Fred and Sydney Drakes place." Both males stopped and stared at her with caution. The father was the one to speak. "It was empty when we got here." She was confused but nodded her head anyway. Walking over to the windows, Rachel made a move to open the drapes. "Don't do that," she stopped and looked back at him "They'll see the light, more out there than usual." her hand went back to clutching the oversized blanket wrapped around her small hunched frame. He turned back around and tended to the food, preparing it for dinner. "Never shoulda fired that gun today. Sound draws 'em and-than their all over the street… stupid." He was sounding tired. " Things just happened so fast you know?" That's when she remembered him shooting down the other man on the street.

"You shot down that man today." she stated plainly, eyes narrowing.

"Man?" He looked at her amused

"It weren't no man!" His son finally spoke up, feeling offended that this unknown woman would imply that his father was a murderer.

"What the hell was that out your mouth?!" His father was looking at him accusingly. "It wasn't a man." he corrected.

"And you," He turned his attention back to the only woman in the room. "You need to get your eyes checked that was a walker, not a man."

It was a minute of tense silence before everyone sat down to eat. Rachel's stomach did flips of joy at the sight of beans and hash browns. Just as she was about to dig in and consume the food in front of her, the man's son spoke in a quiet tone. "Daddy… blessings," He nodded his head once and took his sons hand, giving the woman an expectant look. She took father and sons offered hand and quietly bowed her head, hoping they'd hurry up so she could get to eating. "…Father we thank thee for this food, our blessings. We ask that you watch over us in these crazy days. Amen." "Amen."

Rachel noticed the man's hard questioning stare. Like he was trying to understand her in that exact moment, but she ignored it and went straight to eating once all praying were done. "Do you even know what's going on?" She looked up from her food barely even half chewing, but answered him anyway.

"I woke up today in the hospitable… came home, that's all I know." She swallowed,

"But you know about the dead people right?"

"Oh yeah, I saw alotta that out on the loading pad and piles on the trucks." He quickly shook his head at her glibness.

"I'm not talking about the one's they put down but the ones they didn't… the walkers, like the one I shot today." He was giving her a critical stare, "He woulda ripped into you, try to eat you, take him some flesh at least."

Her eyebrows pulled together in a frown, becoming confused by that absurd statement. He let his guard down at her expression, she was telling the truth. "I guess if this is the first time you're hearing it… I know how it must sound."

"They're out there on the street?" She asked a little skeptically,

"Yeah, they get a little more active after dark. Maybe it's the cool air-hell, maybe it was me firing that gun today on the street. But we'll be fine as long as we stay quiet, probably wonder off by morning." Rachel picked at her food, appetite slowly disappearing… this man was telling the truth.

"Plus, one thing I do know… don't you get bit. We saw your bandage and that's what we were afraid of. Bite's kill ya. Fever burns you out and you die… than after a while you come back as one of them." he said matter-of-factly.

The candle on the table flicked back and forth at the slight breathe they exhaled. "We seen it happen." His son's eyes stared at the flame with a faraway look. The man reached over and squeezed his son's shoulder lightly, giving him a reassuring smile. After moments of silence they were back to eating, She had nothing more to ask.

Quiet was always something she liked… but right now she would give anything to hear the thumping of feet and cars driving on the street. What she missed most was the roughhouse play her husband and son would do in the next room, her son's whining voice to stay up just a few more minutes.

Now silence scared her.

Clutching the blanket closer to her body, Rachel stared at the make-shift curtains expecting a giant monster to storm through and just eat them all right then and there.

"Carl… he your son?" The man pulled her out of her disturbing thoughts.

"He's a little younger than your son." She answered and returned to staring at the curtains.

"Father? Is he with him?"

"I hope so…" Happy days with her family seemed like such a long time ago.

"Did you ask her?" The mans son asked his father in a tired voice beside him. A smile tugged the sides of his lips. "Me and my boy have a little bet going on, your gun shot makes him think you're a bank robber…" Rachel couldn't help the chuckle slip past her lips.

"That's me alright, puckish rogue Jane!" She was feeling happy, but she knew she shouldn't be happy. Everyone they ever knew was gone and laughing at a time like that just felt wrong. With that sudden realization her upbeat mood was dowsed.

"…Sheriffs Deputy."

"Really?" He looked surprised.

Everyone jumped at the sound of a car alarm going off. The man's boy sat straight up and looked at the covered windows in fear.

He shushed his son quiet and tried to calm his panicking nerves. "Shh-shh-shh It's alright, daddy's here… It's nothing, one of 'em must a bumped a car." Rachel was just about to pop right out of her skin at the unexpected sound.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it happened once before. Went off for a few minutes. Get the light Dwayne…" Doing as told, the boy moved to the side of the living room bed and turned the lantern lamp's light off. Rachel followed his lead and turned off the one closest to the window.

They peaked through a tiny opening in the drapes, quickly pinpointing the source to the loud honking. "Won't the noise attract more of them?" "…we'll just have to wait'em out till morning."

Dwayne gasped, his eyes becoming teary and wide. "She's here…" His father quickly nudged him in the shoulder, trying as gently as possible to get his son away from the window. "Don't look, Go." When he didn't move, he pushed him a little harder. "I said go!" he harshly whispered.

The boy fell into the blankets, sobbing uncontrollably. His father tried his best to comfort him, coaxing him to be quieter.

Rachel watched one particular one with actual flesh still attached to their body, giving it an almost bewildered human look. She followed the walker towards the front door of the house and watched her through the peephole.

It searched the door back and forth, mouth opening and closing in a biting fashion. Then it looked down almost curiously at the door knob. Her eyes followed the noise of the turning door knob and slowly backed up. She was now sitting in her original place she had been before staring at the door in silent terror.

"She uh… She died in the other room on that bed, There was nothing I could do about it…. That fever, came off her skin like a furnace… I shoulda put her down, I know that! But I just couldn't hurt my child…" Rachel looked to the still turning knob with a blank expression, even though dread built in the pit of her stomach, she had no emotion to comprehend the fear she felt at that moment.

Waiting for morning felt like an eternity; but within that time she earned the trust of the father who told her his name was Morgan and the son Dwayne. Rachel only got a good two hours of sleep before being awoken to the hot humid air of the boarded house. Even though there was still a risk of the hoard, they needed to really get out of the house before they boiled alive in their own sweat.

With some difficulty, Rachel had taken them all to her house and scoured for any clues to the whereabouts of her family. Even though Morgan told her numerous times that her family might not have survived, she just couldn't hear any of it.

"They're in Atlanta I bet." Dwayne spoke, after hours of searching and finding nothing. "That's right." Morgan confirmed.

"Why?"

"Refugee center… huge one they said before the broadcast stopped, they'd said it'd be safest…"

"Plus they got that disease place." His son offered. Morgan nodded his head. "Center for Disease Control… said they were working out how to solve this thing."

Without another word Rachel turned on her heel and walked straight to the key cabinet. If she was even thinking of going anywhere, than she was going to need supplies. "How do you know their alive?!" Dwayne's father questioned.

Her glare was hard, and her jaw was set. "I **don't**!...but I gotta believe they are…" He didn't say anything after that, her stubbornness was clear.

No walkers roamed the police station, it was literally clean of any creepy crawlers and Rachel was thankful.

The LED flashlight she used to search the dark hallway unnoticeably shook in her left hand, the other hand loosely holding a bat at her side. The walk was long and quiet, only noise they made was the soft tapping of their shoes on the hard ceramic floor. They finally arrived upon their destination, so she turned around and unhooked a key from the keychain of her hoop. "These are the women's showers those are the men's…" Her flashlight shined on both signs above their heads.

"The hot waters been off for about half a month now…"

"Stations got its own propane system… if anything happens, call out. I'm only across the hallway." Rachel proceeded to walk into the women's bathroom, leaving Morgan and Dwayne to look at her skeptically.

The hot water hit her skin, soothing away all the bad memories of the last 24 hours. Something felt normal for once. Just as she lathered shampoo into her greasy matted hair shouts of joy were heard from the other room. A smile formed on her lips but it quickly faded from the feeling of guilt that ate away at her inside. This was the second time, how could she feel happy when the entire world was in total ruins? But their joyous laughter and singing couldn't keep the grin off her face. It felt good to hear laughter again… even if it wasn't hers.

A silent understanding of the eyes passed between them once Rachel handed Morgan the sniper. "Take it…" He did without question or hesitance.

"You should think about going to Atlanta."

Now he hesitated.

"…We tried before, but my wife couldn't travel with her heart. So we just hunkered down and tried to stay quiet."

"You could've left whenever you wanted after your wife… why didn't you?" He was at a loss for an answer and smiled.

"I guess I just never got around to it." This made her smile a little.

"You sure you don't want to tag along?" Rachel adjusted the bag of weapons around her shoulder, feeling the strain in that area.

"Maybe in a few more days… by then, Dwayne will know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty." She dropped the guns in the back sit of her police cruiser and grabbed an old walkie-talkie. "You have one battery… I'll turn mine on a few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there? That's how you find me." She handed it to Morgan who accepted it gratefully.

"Another thing about the walkers… They may not seem like much with jus one of em. But, When their in groups… you better watch yourself." She gave him a tight hug, and bent down to Dwayne's height to give him a hug as well. "You take care of your old man now, ya hear?" He nodded his head enthusiastically.

Just as she turned to get into the car a familiar walker shuffled its way towards them. It fingers entwined themselves in the fence wires, trying to get past the barrier. "Neil…" Rachel whispered in horror. Regret welling up inside her. "…I didn't think much of him. He was young, stupid, and tried hitting on me more times than I could count. But I don't think he deserves this…" she referred to his still walking dead body.

Morgan understood her meaning and quickly hurried into the car. "You'd better be quick. The shot'll draw em here." Dwayne and him gave Rachel a final goodbye before jumping into and starting up their truck.

Placing the barrel of her six-shooter in the middle of dead Neils forehead, she brought the hammer back and pulled the trigger.

Things seemed peaceful, birds chirped in the distance the soft uncut grass cushioned her feet with every step. She scoped out the trees and wide stretches of grass hoping to find that crawler from yesterday.

Soon Rachel had found a trail of pushed grass, something had been crawling here. She finally found the creature she had been searching for. The first walker that so pitifully reached for her, it's teeth still trying to chomp on air. Rachel inhaled a lung full of air and kneeled beside it. Eyes becoming watery once its eye sockets opened to nothing. For a moment she covered her mouth with the edge of her fingertips. Tears streaked down her face and dripped from her chin. Her hand balled into a fist as she tried to rein her emotions.

"I-I'm… sorry this happened to you." She pulled out her gun and squared it straight between its eyes. It took her a moment to pull the trigger, its head snapped and bobbed to the right at the recoil of the guns hit. A weight lifted from her shoulders when Rachel rose back to her feet and walked back to her car.

_-Hello, anybody out there? Please respond.-_

A blond headed teen perked up at the sound and dashed for the radio, dropping all her sticks in the process.

"Yes?! Hello?! I can hear you!"

_-Hello? Can anybody hear my voice? Please respond.-_ The teen fumbled with the button of the radio, trying desperately to get the stupid thing to work. "Please! We're just outside the city!"

_-I'm broadcasting on the emergency channel, we're coming into Atlanta on highway 85. If anybody reads, please respond.-_ The radio crackled with static making it harder to hear what the person on the other line said. The girl tried to talk to the person but silence soon filled the airs. "He can't hear me!"

An old man in a fishermen's hat walked up beside her and pointed to the radio. "Come on son, you know how to work that." He called for the young sweaty man holding an axe.

"Hello, hello? Is the person who called still on the air? This is officer Shane Walsh, to the person unknown please respond!" Shane casually gripped the radio in his hand. Leon and Carl gathered around as well, a look of concentration on their faces as they waited for the person on the radio to respond. Static filled the silence, and when no one answered back Shane let the object in his hand fall carelessly to the table.

"He's gone…"

"There are others…" Leon announced. "It's not just us…"

"…yeah I knew there would be, that's why I left the CB on." Shane reminded him. "A lotta good it's been doing." The curly haired man contradicted. A battle of glares started up between the two. "I've been saying for a week that we gotta put up signs to warn people away from the city."

"Folks got no idea what their getting into…" the blond teen agreed sorrowfully.

Giving the crippled man one last glare, Shane stood up to his feet and shook his head. "Well we ain't got time." He quickly dashed their ideas of a rescue, but Leon wouldn't let up. "Well I think we need to make time!"

"That's a luxury we can't afford! We are living here day to day."

The old man looked back and forth between the two, sensing a fight. "And who do you suppose we send?" He asked Leon in a quiet tone.

"I'll go! Give me a vehicle!" Carl looked at his dad in horror. The look on his small 9 year old face reminded Shane too much of Rachel, what would she think if he made her crippled husband go out on his own in a Geek infested city? No, he had to keep her family safe. It was the only thing he could do to honor her memory and show his love for his dead partner.

"No! you're in no condition to be running around trying to save people!" Leon pushed Shane back with all his might, making the bigger man tumble backwards in surprise. He quickly got up and shoved back.

"Dad!" Before Leon can go in to attack, Carl's voice killed any intent he had to harm the man. But Shane didn't notice his non-hostility stance and slugged the injured man across the face. He fell away in a heap on the ground, clutching his sore jaw. With every ounce of authority he could gather into his voice Shane glared down at his long-time rival. "You ain't goin! You have to stay and protect your son!" ugly looks and snarls were the only communication the two men shared after that.

Dale sighed and shook his head at their childish behavior.

After long hours of talking on the radio and being answered with nothing, Rachel's gas tank had emptied. She was only a good 30 miles out of the city before she was stranded, but she wasn't stranded for long before she had found a ranch.

Owners were dead, but their horse was alive. Bag of guns secured tightly over her chest she rode her way into the city, finding nothing but black charred vehicles and old newspaper prints flying on the wind. Military looked to have set up on the street she came into but there was no people.

Her companion whinnied when they came across two walkers, but she was quick to calm him and continued onwards. "It's just a few of 'em. We can outrun 'em…" She soothed. A crow cawed ominously from its perched spot on the tank, picking at the stringy red remains of a person thrown across the top.

Rachel was almost about to turn around and head out of the city when the sound of whirling had her searching the skies. By Pure-chance she looked to the tall reflecting building and spotted a helicopter. Kicking her heels into the animal's sides, she sprinted off after it. Once she rounded a corner to the next block, a sea of matted hair and grey skin turned in her direction. It took her a second to register the number of hands reaching outwards at her but she turned around and speeded back the way she came.

To her horror another hoard had built up behind her, blocking her exit. She was surrounded now, hands pushed and pulled at the animals fur causing it to buck Rachel off its back and fall to the ground out of the crowd. Looking around, she caught sight of the tank and quickly ran up on top of it, leaving the bag of guns behind in her wake. She closed the top of the cover and closed the one on the inside.

Now she was alone, Rachel didn't even bother looking back when she heard the cries of pain coming from her horse. Her legs clutched to her chest, she rocked herself back and forth in the small space of the tank. That dead solider only had one gun on him, a magazine with only fifteen bullets… he didn't even try to end it himself. Must've thought someone was going to save him.

Her chest tightened at the growling, scratching and banging coming from outside the tank. They were trying to get in but Rachel had sealed the doors shut, and who knew how long they were going to be roaming outside. She was trapped…

The gun in her right hand glinted with a silver light. Was it glowing? She rested her temple on the side of it, feeling sick. This wasn't the time to be thinking of that.

_-Hey, you… dumbass!-_ Rachel looked up at the Radio overhead in surprise. _–you in the tank! Cozy in there?-_


End file.
